MoCCA: Seek out these comics and graphic novels

Photo credit: Handout

A slew of panels, discussions and other events will be part of the MoCCA Comic Arts Festival this weekend, but at the end of the day, this show is about one thing: the comics.

amNY has done your homework for you and compiled a list of comics you should seek out at the festival.

‘Zita the Spacegirl’
Ben Hatke
We dare you not to smile ear-to-ear when reading this absolutely adorable adventure about a girl out to rescue her friend on an alien world. I love this book. (First Second)

‘How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less’
Sarah Glidden
Glidden captures her experience on a free “Birthright” trip to Israel in this beautifully painted travelogue. (Available from Glidden)

‘Night Animals’ and ‘The Wrong Place’
Brecht Evens
Evens’ “The Wrong Place” was an award-winner at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, which is like winning the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or. Also check out his comic “Night Animals.” (“The Wrong Place” at Drawn and Quarterly; “Night Animals” at Top Shelf)

‘Mickey Mouse Vol. 1’
Floyd Gottfredson
This archival collection culls together the early “Mickey Mouse” newspaper cartoon strips from the 1930s by Disney legend Gottfredson. (Fantagraphics)

‘Scenes From an Impending Marriage’
Adrian Tomine
Brooklyn cartoonist Tomine has never been funnier than in this pint-sized graphic novel that chronicles the path to his wedding. (Drawn & Quarterly)

‘Incredible Change-Bots Two’
Jeffrey Brown
This tome continues the offbeat adventures found in Brown’s hilarious “Transformers” spoofs. (Top Shelf)

‘Comic Book Comics No. 5’
Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey
The penultimate issue of this series on comic-book history explores the numerous legal battles in the industry. Go ahead and get the other issues too! (Evil Twin Comics)

‘Shazam!: The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal’
Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear
Once more popular than Superman, Captain Marvel is the focus of this overstuffed book that collects images of unusual trinkets and ephemera of the classic superhero. (Abrams)

If you go: MoCCA Fest 2011 will be held on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lexington Avenue Armory, 68 Lexington Ave., moccany.org. $12 per day or $20 for the weekend.

Strandicon!
Get your weekend of comic celebration started early at the Strand, which will be hosting a day’s worth of events with some big names in the industry, including R. Sikoryak and Dash Shaw. Friday, FREE, 2:30-8 p.m., 828 Broadway, 212-473-1452

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